TBTP:H -2100: The Face of Love
Awakening "..." "..." "...Where am I?" A red haired youth laid in the middle of a grassy field. He wore a simple outfit of sand colored pants, and a gray shirt with a golden cross on top of a rose on the back. His eyes were pools of pure sapphire, and his crimson hair made him look somewhat handsome. He appeared to be about 8 or 9. As he stood up, he surveyed his surroundings. He saw nothing, for miles. At this he sighed and thought, Where do I go from here, then? He looked around again, then he saw a small pillar of smoke. He then thought, Smoke means fire. Fire means someone started it. Someone there means they must be cooking...FOOD!! He raced toward the source of the smoke with all his might. but as he drew near to where the source was, it seemed to get farther and farther away. The youth tried to sprint faster, but to no avail. He stopped, and fell to the ground, panting. He then heard the noise which made him curl into a ball. His own stomach growling. He tried to get up, but he only fell back down again. He slowly drifted into a slumber. Thank You Across the grassy plain, there was seemingly nothing in sight. The only thing that was within the area was a caravan. They had no animals to carry the supplies, so there were many people in the group. A great torch was in the center of the caravan. It's blaze was indescribable, flickering in greatness. The men in the caravan were powerfully built; even the women exhibited a sense of power. Though, there was one raven haired girl that drew all the attention. She was about 8 or 9, and even for her age, she was quite attractive to ones of her age. She had light brown eyes that gave a sense of wisdom. Her face was quite angular, and gave her the appearance of a fighter, but also the loveliness of a maiden. She was a small distance away from the caravan, picking some flowers used for the lanterns. "Akari!" called one of the men from the caravan. "Let's go! You'll be left behind!" "I'll be right there, Daddy!" called Akari. As she made her way back to the caravan, she tripped over a large object, and fell flat on her face. She rubbed her bruised head, and said, "Ow, what did I hit?" She looked back to see a boy about her age. She got closer to examine him closely. She put her fingers to his neck to see if he had a pulse. She was relieved to find that he was alive. "Akari!" called Akari's father. "Let's go!" "Dad! I found someone!" replied Akari. Akari's father ran toward her and the person she found. He stopped where they were and looked at the boy in surprise. "He one of ours?" "No," said Akari. "I haven't seen him with the other kids." She then saw that the boy was coming around. She looked at his face as his eyes began to open. And because of this encounter, their fates are intertwined... Fully Alive "...Uh..." I said as I looked at this girl on top of me. For a second I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This girl was really cute, and usually I didn't think about girls. I'm 9 years old, what do you expect? I looked at the girl and said, "Um, any particular reason you're on top of me?" The girl put on a pouting look and said, "Fine, maybe I should leave you here to die then." "Please don't," I said weakly. I just remembered why I was running toward the caravan. I tried to get up, but my stomach growled louder than before. The girl looked back at me and asked, "You hungry?" I didn't even have the energy to make a snappy retort, and just said, "Yeah..." A really tall guy then approached both of us. He looked at the girl and asked, "Is this the boy of which you speak?" The girl nodded, then the man picked me up, and placed my feet on solid ground. I looked up at him and began to speak, but I blacked out before I could say anything." The Thirst Is Taking Over I woke with a start to the smell of some delicious food. Without thinking, I pounced on the plate of food next to me, and wolfed down every last scrap. Even though the richness of the food was incredible, I didn't feel overwhelmed by the sensation. I knew that there were cases where people died from having rich food after not eating for a long time. The food tasted spicy, then had a sweet aftertaste. There was also a pitcher of water near the plate. I drank every last drop in the pitcher. After that, I was able to think more clearly. Then I realized something that would have made most people cry out. I was dead... The last thing I remembered was some giant fish thing with a bleached mask attacked my mother and me. My mother wasn't able to make it, and I was saved by some guy in a black shihakusho. Wait a sec, what's a shihakusho? Anyway, I was dead, and I was saved by this guy with a sword, and now, I met a cute girl, and am eating some of the best food in my life. Or is it afterlife? Who knows? Anyways, as soon as I finished the food and water, the girl, almost on cue, entered the tent I was in. Geez, I need to be more specific on details. The girl smirked and said, "Despite the ravaged plate, you still look as clean as a whistle." I smirked, "My mom taught me to not be a messy eater." The girl giggled and said, "Missed one spot though." She touched my left cheek with her finger, and wiped off some crumbs from my face. I blushed a little, then said, "Thanks." I looked around at the intricate designs inside the tent. It showed some people in black clothes with swords fighting against monsters with white masks. It then showed the people in black firing different types of energy from their hands. Then it showed the monsters firing energy from their mouths in varied colors, but red was the most prominent. I looked at the girl and asked, "So, what's with the guys in black robes?" The girl looked at me and replied, "They're members of our clan. They are warriors that fight against the Hollows." "Hollows?" I asked. "Malevolent spirits that attack other innocent spirits, and even humans," said the girl. "They are spotted easily becaus of their bleached masks." I flashed back to when my mom and I were attacked. The fish monster had a white mask, and it...ate my mother. I looked at the girl and asked, "If someone is attacked by those..." "Hollows." "Right, Hollows, can they be saved?" I asked. The girl looked away for a moment, then said, "We don't know." I looked down at the floor and said, "Then...mother was..." The girl looked at me and asked, "Was your mother attacked by a Hollow?" I didn't speak, but merely nodded my head. "I'm sorry," said the girl. She then lifted my head up, and she hugged me. I wanted to pull away, but she didn't let go. I resigned getting away, and I just cried. After a couple of minutes, we broke, and I said, "I'm so pathetic." The girl put her hand on my shoulder and said, "You aren't." "Yes I am," I argued. "No, you're not," she said reassuringly. I only turned away from her and said, "Please leave me be." I thought she'd try to argue, but she said, "If you need anything, just call." I turned around, "Wait, what's your name?" The girl looked and me and said, "My name is Aka- Her voice was cut off by an explosion outside. We both ran out of the tent, and saw what was happening. A monster was in the camp. A huge fish-like monster, with an ugly white mask. I froze. This was the same monster that attacked my mom. Around me, men charged the monster, but to no avail. They each were killed by the monsters horrid blades on it's arms. It then let out a bone chilling shriek, and more monsters charged the camp. Women were screaming, wanting to get away, but they were all being devoured by the monsters. I looked at the carnage around me and said, "This can't be happening...it just can't..." "KID!!! COME ON!!!" screamed the girl. I snapped to reality, and followed her. Behind me, none of the monsters were chasing us. Unfortunatly, I tripped over a rock, and let out a cry. "COME ON!!!" The girl screamed at me again. That caught the attention of the big fish monster. It lumbered toward us, and its minions surrounded the girl. The monster finally caught up, and said to me, "Stupid little boy. You will make a fine meal tonight." I don't wanna die, I thought. I looked over to the girl. The monsters were getting close to her, each licking their lips in a grotesque fashion. She was hurt as well. She yelled over to me, "RUN KID RUN!!!" "You can't escape, my little morsel," cackled the monster. As he said that, one of the other monsters bit the girl. Her screams hit me like a giant boulder, and my rage flared to the divine level. Thorns/Fading Away I screamed. I yelled. I even howled. My anger was so great that I looked at the monster with hatred only. My emotions were erased from my mind. I had no other feeling. Only one stream of thoughts. Kill that monster. Just kill that God-forsaken demon. I ran, but I ran toward the gathering of monsters screaming, "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!!!" Rage flooded my thoughts. Anger became my ally. Hate was my weapon. I jumped to the air and brought down a slash on one of the monsters, destroying them all. I looked at the girl, and saw that she was OK. Only a nick on her right arm. I bent down near her and asked, "Are you OK?" She nodded weakly, and said, "You...have a...Zanpakutou." I then took notice of the sword right next to me. It had quite a long blade on it, at least as long as Hikaru was. It was completely black, and had chain on the end of the blade. It pulsed with an aura of unimaginable power. But there was no time to worry about that. The monster behind me had begun to charge. At that moment, the rage swelled up inside, and I ran towards the monster. I jumped into the air and brought my sword down on it, but it just swatted me away. I hit a tree and fel to the ground. The monster still charged toward the girl. I couldn't get up. I struggled to get upright, but to no success. The monster then said in a horrid voice, "You're all mine, girl." "No...she...ISN'T!!!" I yelled. With that, I sprang to my feet and ran towards the monster. I ran as fast as I could, but the monster reached her before I was able to catch up.